We grow Jujubes. It is not a candy but a fruit. And the most delicious fruit – sort of between an apple and a date. And when we pit and cook it with a minimal amount of sugar it makes a jam that tastes like pureed dates. YUM!
If you can find jujubes in your market – you will need about 5 lbs of them to make jam. Pitting them is a pain – but sit and do it while listening to some great music ( how about Vivaldi’s Four Seasons as you look out of the window at the fall colors?) and the time will pass fast.
Then add 1/2 cup of sugar to the pitted mixture and the juice of one lemon – and cook it slowly until soft. Then press the mixture through a strainer and the result is the most yummy puree that can be returned to the stove and cooked once again. When very hot – put into ball jars that have been sterilized in the dishwasher, and store in the fridge. You should get about 5-6 one pint jars of Jujube Spread.
Enjoy! Below is a basket of some of our Jujube crop – eating them raw by the way is divine – they have an apple crunch!